California Breakfast Slam

Cabslam moved from my sight a while ago. To be honest, I hadn’t been super happy with it. I tried it once and it was barely an OKAY. American breakfast – I love it. But it was a bit too greasy, service was bad even for Berlin standards, and you know, it’s hard to accept food in a place that smells like a collective hangover. I made my verdict.

And that’s how I missed 3 years worth of the best pancakes of my life. Cabslam changed places and apparently, I was wrong about their food. I must have had a bad day or maybe they had a bad day – it happens. Some of my friends have been in my ears forever to give them another shot, but they were at the other end of the Canal now; also, the lines on weekends were ridiculous, with no chance to book a table at all.

But then, in 2016, it happened – I was there, right time, right place. And yes. Cabslam: Best pancakes I’ve had in Berlin. They were the right amount of fluffy, without tasting like thin air. They were sweet, but not drowning in syrup (unless Püppi gets hold of the Maple – then God save us all). The Huevos Rancheros, which I’d had at Geist im Glas before, were something else. Eating out at Cabslam is not healthy, and will most likely result in being drunk, too (the Bloody Marys, oh my, are an excellent choice if you dare).

What is still annoying is the place itself. The smell of the kitchen gets entangled in your clothes, your hair… it’s nice to be branded with the smell of delicious food, but it’s not nice when it’s Sunday afternoon and you still have to pass by the doormen at Berghain. So that’s a minus, for sure. The service still kind of sucks. Don’t get me wrong: the people are lovely individuals. But there are way too many tables and too many orders for them, and I think they must have reached that tipping point when you know you can’t win this game so you don’t even make any effort? I see much of myself in them. I see much of myself smoking weed with all of them, too. They’re great, good looking people who serve really good food, but I’ve been in so much pain from the waiting. Waiting at the door. Waiting at the table. Waiting for the food, for the bill, for the change, it’s all just a waiting game with Cabslam. But it’s okay – I forgive. Because it’s really, really good. [1. Quick note: CabSlam lets your order-in via Deliveroo. I don’t understand why anybody would want poached eggs that just had a bumpy ride on a bicycle across Berlin – but whatever. What I really find a shitty move of business is to let customers wait in-house in an already packed establishment while some lazy asshole can’t be bothered to wait in line for a table. For soggy food. I hope it’s really soggy!]